The Best New Music for Yoga: May ’17 Edition

Ambient and quiet compositions predominate in this month’s collection of music for yoga—hopefully, you will find these slow and spacious sounds grounding and balancing the expansive energy of springtime. In addition to these ambient albums, we also have some exciting electro-shaman, folktronica and kirtan recordings to share with you. As always, we hope this collection of yoga music inspires and encourages you to get on your mat and dive deep into your yoga practice.

This Austin-based producer/musician specializes in ambient music to “foster spaces of well being & positive flow.” This album consists of undulating calming ambient soundscapes that contain enough diversity of sounds and textures to keep the listener focused and immersed throughout its hour and a half duration.

These soft and soothing ambient soundscapes are all exactly five minutes long—making them perfect to use as timers for meditation practice. There are two versions of each composition plus a full album mix track. These slowly changing synth drones are best suited for savasana and meditation.

Float on a sea of sound and soothing vocals with this gorgeous nada yoga (the yoga of sound) based recording. Soft calming vocals intertwine amongst the mesmerizing sounds of the tanpura, guitar, veena, and piano. Choose one of these two versions to play, lie down in savasana, and let yourself drift off into this “pilgrimage through voice.”

Blending traditional kirtan sounds and chants with western and electronic beats, this mantra album is filled with devotion, joy, and sweetness. These eight tracks range from slow to medium tempo and contain both Buddhist and Hindu mantras. Recommended for all kirtan fans.

This magical and musical collaboration of two female musicians/activists is haunting and beautiful. These powerful folktronica songs are accented with minimal yet intriguing guitar, cello, piano, percussion, kalimba and various electronica elements.

This fun and funky Brazilian electro-shamanic album has a mesmerizing array of sounds in complex yet hypnotic patterns. All six tracks have a medium tempo that would work great during an energizing vinyasa practice.

These three downtempo electronic tracks from German musicians have an abundant amount of reverb which produces a soft, expansive and spacious sound. These songs would make great transitions between ambient tracks and more upbeat songs in a yoga playlist.

Most of these sixteen cinematic tracks are suitable for yoga, meditation and healing work—but a couple of tracks aren’t quite as calming or soothing enough for this use. These diverse compositions of piano, strings and synth would work well for a cool-down part of a yoga playlist but can also be listened to for general relaxation and enjoyment.

This hour-long soundscape will certainly bring you into a deep state of meditation and entrainment. Undulating layers of didgeridoo and Vietnamese jaw harp drones are beautifully punctuated by shamanic drums, bells and the vocal chanting of the sacred mantra of Om.

Timothy Burgin is a Kripalu & Pranakriya trained yoga instructor living and teaching in Asheville, NC. Timothy has studied and taught many styles of yoga and has completed a 500-hour Advanced Pranakriya Yoga training. Timothy has been serving as the Executive Director of YogaBasics.com since 2000. He has authored two yoga books and has written over 500 articles on the practice and philosophy of yoga. Timothy is also the creator of Japa Mala Beads and has been designing and importing mala beads since 2004.

New to Yoga?

To get the most out of our site, we suggest you take some time to explore before jumping into the practice. Browse our yoga 101 section for general info on the history and types of yoga, then start exploring asanas the physical postures used in hatha yoga. Remember to breathe and always start your yoga practice with a brief meditation. If you are new to yoga, please read our Yoga for Beginner's page

Yogic Wisdom

These days, my practice is teaching me to embrace imperfection: to have compassion for all the ways things haven't turned out as I planned, in my body and in my life – for the ways things keep falling apart, and failing, and breaking down. It's less about fixing things, and more about learning to be present for exactly what is.